The Match and the Rock
by HPfanonezillion
Summary: Katniss and Peeta are doing well co-parenting while separated, but some big changes are coming and being apart may not be so easy anymore.
1. Part One

_Author's note: I wrote this for Prompts in Panem's Final Tribute challenge. This gem has been floating around in my head for a very long time now and I decided this was the little punch to get it going. The title comes from the Bastille song The Things We Lost in the Fire._

 _Much thanks to LavenderVanilla for being a great beta and friend. And thanks to my bestie writingbutunpublished for tolerating me and my constant stream of Everlark fics._

 _I have a new Tumblr devoted to fanfics! It's HPfanonezillion. Come talk to me!_

 _Happy reading!_

Part One

The bakery was swamped. Peeta looked at his watch. Twenty minutes until closing. And then he'd get to see his daughter Lily. It was his week with her.

He passed along the change to his latest customer and slid the box marked "Mellark Bakery" towards him. "Have a good afternoon." He said cheerfully.

He helped Annie fill more orders from the massive line of people when he noticed the set of gray eyes staring at him from in front of the register. Katniss. He always noticed her eyes first. Next was the set of her mouth do gauge her mood. It was set in a straight line, so there was something on her mind she needed to discuss.

A glance at the disgruntled customer behind Katniss informed Peeta that his estranged wife must have cut in line. In the past, she would have just made her way around the counter. So much had changed in the year they'd been separated. She still felt like she had a claim to the bakery, but not enough to walk behind the counter.

"Hi, Katniss." He breathed. Her striking appearance, still dressed for coaching, distracted him from coherent thoughts. He'd seen her a week ago when he dropped their daughter off at her house. She was always beautiful, but there was something in the way she was holding herself today that made her a little more alluring.

"Hi." Katniss said softly. "Can I talk to you? Is this a bad time?"

"Never a bad time for you." He motioned for Annie to take over the counter and called for Delly to pause in the sweeping in the back. He then led Katniss into the kitchen where the workers were cleaning up for the day.

"You really pissed off that lady." Peeta said with a chuckle.

"She was just ordering some dinner rolls." Katniss said softly. "It wasn't like it was life and death or something."

"And you couldn't have called me or waited until you brought Lily to tell me whatever this is?" He reached out and touched the end of her braid. It was a familiar, intimate gesture that he hadn't been close enough to perform in so long.

She pulled away and twisted her hands, looking toward the clatter around them. "Can we go upstairs? I don't want to be overheard."

He looked around the room. "It's almost closing time, Katniss. Can this wait fifteen minutes?"

She sighed and crossed her arms. "I guess it could, but I promised Lily I wouldn't be gone long."

He ran his fingers through his hair. "Yeah, come on." Why hadn't he brought her up in the first place? He held his hand out for her to go first and then followed her up the narrow set of stairs that led to his apartment. "Is everything okay? Is Lily okay?"

"Lily's fine. She's with Prim and Gale." Katniss didn't say anything else until they were inside and the door to Peeta's tiny apartment was shut. "Do you remember that night when we were planning Lily's party?" She perched on the sofa. "What happened after?"

Peeta took a seat on the adjacent chair. "Yeah, I do."

Images of that night nearly three months before came flooding back. He remembered how soft Katniss's skin had been under his touch. The roughness of her hands as they explored his body. It had been both familiar and brand new. She'd whispered that he was still so attractive as she scraped her lips over his skin. After all those months without, it had been so intense.

But she'd left in the morning without a word and she refused to talk about it when he tried to bring it up any time after, so he'd given up trying. He thought about it every day, late into the night in his lonely apartment. The only thing she talked with him about anymore was their daughter. It was like after that night, no other topics were okay.

Peeta pulled himself out of his thoughts and looked over Katniss's expectant face trying to figure out what was going on. Maybe she decided that it was time to start the divorce process. Maybe she was thinking about getting back together. Admittedly, both thoughts had definitely crossed his mind more than once.

She took a deep breath and said, "I'm pregnant."

That was definitely the last thing Peeta planned to hear. "Oh." He could feel his heart speeding up. A baby. He looked her over again, trying to see if he could have picked up on that little tidbit just by her appearance. "You're sure?"

Katniss nodded. "I had it confirmed at the clinic today." What was that look on her face? Apprehension? Expectation?

"Wow." He could feel the smile growing on his face. He really wanted to reach out and touch her stomach, but he restrained himself. "So are we going to keep doing what we're doing?" What he really wanted to ask was, "Can I please move back in?" But he kept that thought to himself. She'd shut him out for sure.

"I would like to. For now." Katniss hesitated a moment. "Prim reminded me that there were options. Like I would want to give it up or something. I'm in a really good position for this sort of thing, actually. You know with the coaching being so steady now. And the summer camp's booked solid." She was nervous. She always rambled when she was nervous.

He dropped down to his knees in front of her. "Hey, that's great. And this baby and Lily can come stay here with me whenever you need a break, not just on my nights. We can shift those around if you want, too." He stopped and slowly reached up a hand to cup her face, wiping away a wayward tear as it drifted down her cheek. "I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like you weren't important."

She shook her head and leaned into his touch. "It wasn't all you." She swallowed.

"I'd like to start counseling." The suggestion came suddenly, but it was something he'd been considering bringing up for a long time.

"I don't know." She swiped at her tears and sat back a little. He could read relief on her features as he dropped his hand.

"I think it would be good for us." He said. "But it's whatever you want, Katniss."

"No, Peeta." She grasped both his hands in hers. "I think part of our problems was both of us saying, 'Whatever you want' and never worrying about what was best for both of us. Or what was best for Lily. We're about to have two kids. We need to think differently."

He nodded again. "Okay." He kissed her hand and suppressed his frown when she pulled away.

"Counseling is probably a good idea." Katniss said slowly. "We can talk about it more when there's more time."

"Isn't that what we always say?" Peeta pointed out.

She shook her head. "Don't throw that back at me." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "We can both do some research on counselors. And then we'll have that conversation. Okay?"

"That would be good." He grabbed her hand. "I want to tell Lily about the baby together."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Katniss asked. "I just told _you_."

"I want to tell the world." Peeta said. "And Lily is the center of that right now."

She smiled and stood. "As long as you're sure."

He followed her to the door. "I am."

"When I bring her in a bit, we can sit down and lay out all the facts." She made her way out the door, but paused at the landing. They could still hear the clatter downstairs. She gently took hold of Peeta's face, her own filled with uncertainty. She leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "I don't want you to think badly about anything I said. You know how I am with words. I'm happy about this baby." She whispered. "I promise you I am."

"Me too." He wrapped a tentative arm around her waist. "Will you stay tonight?"

She hesitated before she said, "I don't think that's a good idea." She disentangled herself from his embrace. "We still have a long way to go."

He nodded. "See you later." He followed her down through the shop and to the door. "Be careful."

"I won't break." She said with a grin. He'd so missed that smile.

Peeta watched Katniss go and then returned to the counter.

"You're not as flushed as I'd expect you to be." Annie commented with a smirk.

He chuckled. "We just talked."

"That's good. It's a start." She rubbed his back. "Someone called to set up a cake order while you were out."

And with that, it was back to work for the rest of the day, but Peeta couldn't stop thinking about Katniss and the new baby she was carrying. Was she really okay with it all? Would counseling really help them? What if they realized they would be better divorced after all? He didn't even want to imagine what that would be like.

* * *

Katniss sat in her car outside Prim and Gale's house. Her heart hadn't slowed since she'd decided to give Peeta the news.

She lifted her fingers to her lips, still tingling from the kiss. She'd missed that. Though not as much as Peeta's warm arms at night when she woke up from the nightmares. They were always about Lily getting hurt or getting kidnapped. But lately, she dreamed of horrible things happening to her and the baby she was carrying.

They seemed to plague her the most when she was pregnant. The bad dreams happened almost nightly, which was the first sign to her that something out of the ordinary was going on.

She groaned. "What am I doing?" She took her keys from the ignition and slid out of the car.

Lily threw the door open and launched herself at Katniss. "Mama! You're back!"

Katniss chuckled and gathered her daughter close, pressing her nose into the girl's hair. "Did you think I was gone for good?"

Lily giggled. "No, but I sure do miss you when you leave."

"And I sure do miss you." Katniss walked into the house and waved at Gale on the couch as she walked through to the kitchen, Lily still on her hip even though she was definitely too old for it at four.

Prim smiled. "Hey, how did it go?"

Katniss let out a long breath. "It was good." She kissed Lily's temple and sat her down. "Go back in there with Uncle Gale for a minute."

"Okay!" She ran off screaming for her uncle.

Katniss perched on a barstool and put her face in her hands. "He asked me to stay the night." She heard a spoon clatter to the floor and looked up. "It's not that shocking."

"Of course not." Prim picked up the spoon and threw it into the sink before picking up another. "Just slipped from my hand."

"Sure." Katniss was unconvinced.

"Are you going to stay?" Prim asked, stirring something in a large pot.

Katniss got up and walked around the island and sidled up to Prim. "So, what's cooking?"

"You didn't answer my question." Prim gave her a hard look. "Are you going to stay the night with your husband?"

"Why would I? It would just be confusing for Lily. It's going to be hard enough when we tell her about the baby. And he wants to do that tonight, so we'll see how that all goes." Katniss leaned over the pot and breathed in deeply. "Oh, you are such a domestic. Look at this homemade sauce bubbling away."

Prim heaved a heavy sigh.

"What?" Katniss leaned against the island and crossed her arms. "I know you're not about to give away all your secrets. I was always the better cook anyway."

"It's not about that. You always change the subject when I try to talk about Peeta."

"Fine, I'll talk about Peeta." Katniss pushed off from the counter. "He wants to start counseling. We'll figure it out. Maybe."

"That's great. You need this. You've just kind of been in Limbo for so long." Prim sat the spoon on the rest and turned.

"Except for that night three months ago…" Katniss shrugged.

She remembered how sweet he was with her. He was always sweet. He'd told her that he loved her and she'd whispered how beautiful he was. She'd almost hated leaving the next morning, but she wasn't ready. She didn't even know where they stood. And she'd been too scared in the wake of so many raw emotions to have the talk they so desperately needed to have. She never was one for words anyway.

Katniss pulled herself out of the memory. "It's going to be good for us." She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I want to fix this."

Prim squeezed Katniss's hand. "You've always done whatever you put your mind to."

"I have, I guess." Katniss looked at the clock. "I need to get Lily packed and go back over to the bakery."

"You're not staying for supper?" Prim's voice was hurt.

"I'll come back after I get Lily to Peeta. Those two have a pizza and movie date planned. I've been hearing about it all week." Katniss kissed her sister's cheek.

"Call if that changes." Prim requested.

"I'll be back." Katniss walked into the living room. "Let's go, baby girl."

"Daddy time!" Lily exclaimed. She gave Gale a sloppy kiss on the cheek and wrapped her arms around his neck, stage whispering, "Don't worry, the baby sea turtles get saved," before she jumped down.

"Wow, spoiler alert." Gale said with a laugh. He lifted his arm and did a finger wave. "Bye, Catnip."

Katniss leaned her chin on top of Gale's head. "Bye-bye, Gale." They both laughed at the sensation before Katniss ruffled her friend's hair. "I'll be back in a bit."

"Good. And then you and I are having a long talk." Gale gave her a pointed look.

Katniss rolled her eyes before ushering Lily out the door. Her heart started beating fast again. This would be even more difficult that telling Peeta.

* * *

Lily did not take the news well. She threw herself at Peeta and gave Katniss a look of betrayal. "I thought I was your baby." She wailed.

"You are." Peeta assured her. "But we can have other babies and love you just the same."

"No, you can't. Mama, I hate you." Lily cried.

"You do know that I had to help Mama make the baby, right?" Peeta rubbed her back, shooting Katniss sympathetic looks. "If you're mad at Mama, you have to be mad at me, too."

"I'm more mad at Mama." Lily's voice was muffled by Peeta's shoulder.

"That's not fair." Peeta pointed out. "Mama's not the bad guy."

Lily scooted off her father's lap in a huff. "Then you're both bad guys." She stomped off to her room and slammed the door.

"Is she four or fourteen?" Peeta asked.

Katniss smiled fondly. "Reminds me a lot of Prim."

He sighed. "God, I miss that."

"What?" Her face changed as she became self-conscious.

"Your smile. Your commentary. Everything about you." He looked her over. She was still as mesmerizing as the first day he'd seen her. The same as the day she proposed and the day they were married. And she was just as mesmerizing on the day she asked him to move out.

She shook her head. "You can't charm yourself back in."

"Well, I'm not expecting to." He looked toward the bedroom door and then back to Katniss. "I'll talk her down."

She nodded before she walked across to the door and tapped. "I'm leaving, baby. Want to come out and give me a hug?"

"No." Lily called through the door.

Katniss sighed. "Well, I love you. Be good for your dad and I'll see you next Friday."

She was met with silence.

Katniss stepped back. "Bye." Her lips caught between her teeth as she turned back to Peeta.

"You could stay until she's calm." Peeta offered.

"You know damn well how long she can hold a grudge." She said, a fond smile playing on her lips.

He smiled and stepped closer. "Then you can stay for me. She'll come around."

She rested a hand on her stomach. "We need to fix us before that happens again."

"So stay. So we can." He took her hands. "Please."

She shook her head. "I'm not ready." She swallowed and squeezed his hands before letting go. "Give her your time. That's what's important right now." She glanced toward the bedroom door one more time.

Lily's eyes peeked out. "Bye, Mommy." She said softly.

Katniss knelt down and held out her open arms. "Do I get a goodbye hug?"

"No." Lily slammed the door again and called angrily, "I love you."

"And I love you." Katniss said, much more calmly. She stood and headed out the apartment door. "Will you maybe convince her to call me?"

"I will." He followed her to the back door. "I love you."

She smiled and nodded before she stepped out the door.

Peeta returned to the apartment and tapped softly on Lily's bedroom door. "Hey, Lil, you still want pizza?"

There was a short pause and the door opened a crack, a small gray eye peeked out. "Can we make it?"

He dropped down to a crouch so he could be on her level. "We sure can. I even got the pepperoni you like."

The door opened the rest of the way and she grinned. "The little baby ones?"

He nodded and held out his hand. "Come on downstairs."

She slipped her small hand into his and they walked together down to the bakery.

Peeta had mixed up some pizza dough earlier and it was now ready for toppings. He broke off a little and placed it in front of Lily as she climbed up on the stool. "Flatten that out and I'll get all the toppings."

"Did you make the sauce, Daddy?" She asked.

Peeta chuckled as he sat a jar of sauce on the table. "And had it bottled just for you."

She gave a joyful, high laugh. He loved to hear his little girl laugh like that and did all he could to make her laugh for the next several minutes while they assembled the pizzas. Then he put them in the oven and sat down on the stool beside Lily. He handed her a can of soda and watched as her eyes grew wide.

"Is this all mine?" She asked.

He chuckled. "Sure. You get a treat every once in a while." He winked and opened the can for her before opening his own.

She took several long gulps and then sat the can down. Long dribbles of soda dripped down her chin. She opened her mouth and let out a loud burp.

Peeta chuckled and let out his own belch.

They went back and forth for a few minutes and then Lily stopped and just looked critically at her father.

"What?" He asked.

"Do you love me, Daddy?" She asked.

He smiled and smoothed a hand over her hair. "Of course I do."

"So why do you and Mommy want another baby?" Lily whined.

Peeta was saved from answering right away by the timer going off for their pizza. He walked over and took the pies out of the oven and sat them on the counter. He cut them up and then slid each of them a slice onto a plate before sitting back down.

He watched Lily a moment before he said, "Mommy and I both love you a whole, whole lot. And we always want you to know that. But we wanted to grow our love some more. So we decided to have another baby."

Lily chewed her pizza thoughtfully. "Did I make Mommy sad?"

Peeta nodded. "A little. She thought you'd want a baby brother or sister."

Lily put down her pizza and turned to her father with a serious set to her face. "I like being your baby."

"You always will be." He pulled her onto his lap and held her close. "And we'll always make pizza together and watch movies and read books. We'll always have our special time, Lily. But you get a baby to play with and talk to." He smiled and tilted her face up. "And when Mommy and Daddy are making you mad, you can be mad together."

Lily thought a moment and then asked, "Will the baby be a girl?"

"We don't know yet. Why? You want it to be a girl?"

She nodded. "Then we can be like Mommy and Aunt Prim. I don't want a smelly boy."

Peeta gave her a playful look. "Am I smelly?"

She giggled. "No."

"Is your Uncle Gale smelly?"

She laughed. "When he comes in from the woods after hunting he is."

He grinned and kissed her temple. "Boys aren't smelly all the time. And girls can be pretty smelly too."

Lily giggled. "You're funny, Daddy."

"You are, too." He kissed her again and then sat her back on her stool. "Finish your pizza. We have a movie to watch upstairs."

She took a bite of her pizza and then said, "The baby can't sleep in my room."

Peeta nodded. "We'll make sure the baby has its own room and you can keep yours just the way you like it." He leaned over. "What if I see if Mommy wants to redecorate your room?"

Lily nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! I want princesses riding dinosaurs!"

"You got it, kid." He said with a laugh. He took out his phone. "Want to call and ask?"

She nodded and held out her hand for the phone.

Peeta picked out Katniss's number from his favorites and handed it over. "Make sure you tell her you're sorry for being so mean earlier."

Lily nodded and held the phone to her ear. "Hi, Mommy." Her voice was soft. "I'm sorry I said I hated you."

Peeta cleaned up their plates as his daughter talked on the phone. By the end of it, she was laughing, so he was sure everything was okay with Lily again. She definitely did hold a grudge, but she got over it quickly when she wanted.

* * *

Peeta and Katniss hadn't been entirely ready when Lily came along, for many reasons. Mostly it was because their relationship always lacked good communication. They still didn't talk well, but at least they had been a little better coordination getting Lily where she needed to be.

This included deciding to alternate weeks with her so that they could get the same amount of quality time. Katniss hated when it was Peeta's week with Lily because it gave her too much quiet time at night to think. She had blamed herself a lot for the split with Peeta. It was a two-way street, but it still didn't help that she was so horrible with words and starting the important conversations.

Katniss looked at her phone for the thousandth time that evening. It was nine. And it was only Tuesday.

"Three more sleeps." She told herself.

Her phone buzzed as she was leaning forward to put it on the coffee table. She turned it over and saw Peeta's name. She slid her finger across the screen to open the message.

 **Peeta:** _I've been thinking about you since you dropped Lily off Friday. Actually, since you told me about the baby. I can't sleep, Katniss. I miss you. I've missed you for a while. I know we agreed to counseling, but why do we have to wait for that? Can we start on our own now? We made a lot of mistakes. Both of us. And I think it would help if we actually start to sit down and talk about us. About what went wrong. About how we can fix it. And about how we can make sure both our kids are raised by parents who love them. I still love you, Katniss. I never stopped. I want to be able to come home to you at the end of the day again. Because you were always the best part of my day._

Katniss put the phone down and leaned back. He had always known the right words to say to make her heart flutter. And she was often speechless because she felt her own words never quite matched up.

He poured out his heart and her best response was mostly, "Yeah, love you too."

She took a screencap and sent it to Prim. _How do I answer to this?_

Prim's response came quicker than Katniss expected at this hour. _I believe the proper response is, "Bring Lily to Prim's and then come fuck my brains out."_

 _That's not an acceptable response._ Katniss typed quickly. She followed it up with, _I need an actual reply that isn't, "Gee, you're swell, Peeta."_

While waiting for the reply, Katniss started tidying up the living room. Her phone buzzed as she was heading to her bedroom.

 **Prim:** _Copy and paste this: I agree. We do need to have a talk. Want to come over for dinner tomorrow? Prim and Gale will gladly watch Lily for a while. Or the whole night._

Katniss typed out her reply. _Being alone didn't work out before._

 **Prim:** _Seemed to work out well enough. ;)_

Katniss rolled her eyes. _Thanks. I'll send it along. But I'm not very comfortable with it._

Prim replied just a moment later. _He says he still loves you. And I know for a fact you still love him. I've heard you all but admit it more than once. So ask him over. It's not like you can get more pregnant._

Katniss groaned. She knew her sister was right. She sent along the invitation to Peeta and didn't expect him to return a message, but he must have had his phone in his hand because one came in just a few seconds after she sent her own.

 **Peeta:** _Sounds great. Around 6?_

Katniss typed out her reply as she climbed into bed. _Sure. See you then. You bring cheese buns and I'll make lasagna?_

 **Peeta:** _Deal. :)_

Katniss curled on her side and fell asleep with a smile on her face for the first time in a while.


	2. Part Two

_Author's note: HELLO, MY LOVELIES! I know you have been waiting for quite a while for this and I apologize! You'll get a bit of an explanation for why Peeta and Katniss broke up in this chapter. And some adorable Lily Mellark._

 _You can come talk to me about this or anything else (or make prompt requests) on my Tumblr hpfanonezillion._

 _Much thanks to my beta LavenderVanilla. She's a rock star! Go read her stuff!_

 _Happy reading!_

Part Two

Peeta smoothed down his shirt and called, "Lily, did you get your shoes on?"

His daughter appeared at the door to his bedroom. "They hurt my feet, Daddy."

He looked down and smiled. "I can fix that." He helped her sit down and pulled the tongue up out of the end. He helped her put them back on before helping her up. "All better. You ready to spend some time with Aunt Prim and Uncle Gale?"

Lily stuck out her lower lip. "Why can't I come with you?"

Peeta smoothed a hand over her hair and gave her a gentle smile. "Because Mama and I need to talk. Grown-up talk. And we need you to have fun and not worry."

"About the baby?" She asked pitifully.

"Yeah, about the baby. And about Mommy and Daddy."

"I want us all to live together again, Daddy."

"I know, baby. I want it, too." He kissed her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She mumbled.

"I need to tell you a big girl thing." He said, sitting closer.

Her eyes grew wide with interest. "What is it?"

He cleared his throat. "When Mommy has a baby in her belly, it makes her uncomfortable. Kind of like just now with your shoes. Do you think you'd like to walk around with your shoes on the wrong feet all the time?"

Lily shook her head.

Peeta cupped her cheeks. "That's how Mommy will feel until the baby is born. So we have to be nice to her. We can get mad. It's okay to be mad. But saying mean things to people, especially a mommy with a baby in her belly, is not right."

"Okay." She sighed.

He smiled and rubbed his thumb over Lily's cheek. "When I talked to your Aunt Prim, she said something about the sewing machine."

The girl's eyes lit up. "No way!" She shot up, grabbed Peeta's hand, and tugged him toward the door. "Let's get going, Dad. There's no time to lose."

Peeta laughed and followed her to the door, pausing only for both their coats and his keys. He snagged two boxes off the table by the back door, a box of cheese buns for him and Katniss and a dozen cookies for Prim and Gale's.

Lily bolted out of the car as soon as it stopped, screaming in excitement as she ran to the front door. Peeta was only a few steps behind as his daughter threw the door open and barged inside.

He tapped his knuckles against it as he stepped over the threshold offering up the box of cookies.

Prim smiled and waved him in while Lily hugged her around the waist and talked excitedly about the sewing machine. "Just a second, honeybun." She said to Lily. To Peeta, Prim said, "Breathe a little bit. I promise she's way more nervous."

Peeta chuckled. "I don't know." He patted Lily's head. "We haven't been alone since…" He shook his head. "I'm not sure what I want to say. I mean, I know what I want to say, but I don't know where to start."

Prim pulled Peeta into a hug. "Start with 'I love you.' Then move on to 'I'm sorry.' Everything else should fall into place."

Peeta rubbed her back and stepped away. "Did you tell her that, too?"

Prim shrugged. "Maybe. You know Katniss. Words are hard."

He nodded and gently tugged on Lily's arm until she gave up her grip on her aunt to hug Peeta. "I love you and I'll be back to get you later."

As soon as he was out the door, nerves suddenly hit him. Would 'I love you' and 'I'm sorry' really start the dialogue? Or was he just being naïve? Would they ever be able to fix this?

* * *

Katniss took the pan of lasagna out of the oven and leaned over it to breathe in the spicy, herby, cheesy aroma. She and Peeta always agreed that her lasagna was the best. Orgasmic, in fact.

The doorbell rang and her stomach rumbled as she thought, _Peeta has cheese buns on the other side of that door._ She shook her head and hurried through the house, pausing a moment to smooth her hand over her braid.

She opened the door and froze. She remembered all those years ago when he came to pick her up for their first official date. He'd insisted on doing all the stereotypical things. He'd even opened her car door and pulled out her chair at the restaurant. He'd even brought her flowers.

Tonight he was holding a box of cheese buns. He was wearing a shirt of such deep blue that his eyes looked like the twilight sky behind him. He was just as handsome as that evening seven years before. Maybe more.

He held out the box, breaking her from her appraisal. "The cheese buns I promised. Lily and I made them together."

"Thank you." Katniss took the box and stepped aside. "Please come in."

Peeta stepped inside and shed his coat. "It smells great in here."

"Well, I made orgasm lasagna, so I would hope so." She led him into the kitchen, a smile on her face.

"I've never had any lasagna that made my eyes roll up into my head like yours." He gave her a smoldering look. "I have missed orgasms from you."

She blushed. "Well, I gave you one a few months ago and we see where that got us." She patted her stomach.

He gave her a concerned look. "Are you feeling okay? Any morning sickness?"

"Oh, it's hell. Usually right before lunch. But I'm trying to snack more through the morning. Eat a better breakfast. It was a little better today." She sat the pan of lasagna in the middle of the table. "Everything else is pretty okay for now."

"Your breasts tender again?" He pressed his hands to his chest.

She laughed. "Well, yeah."

He winked. "Want me to massage them?"

"Stop." She laughed. "That didn't really work, if you remember." She handed him a plate from the counter.

"It always worked for me." He said as he accepted the plate.

She shook her head and they each silently gathered food. Katniss picked up two cheese buns and then reconsidered, putting one back. Peeta shook his head and placed the second one back on her plate.

"You're eating for two." He commented.

She sighed and picked up one of the cheese buns. Breaking it open, she breathed in the steam that escaped. "If our marriage was cheese buns and lasagna all the time, do you think we would have broken up?"

He gave a short laugh. "Well, even the best things get old after a while." He took a bite of the pasta, closing his eyes as he chewed. "God, how do you get the flavor so perfect?" He moaned.

She felt her smile growing. "Practice." She nibbled the bread. "I want to tell you…"

His eyes opened. "Tell me what?"

"You know that this hasn't been easy. Any of it." She nibbled some more of the cheese bun. "Lily sometimes still cries for you when she's with me."

"It's the same when she's with me." He took another bite and chewed slowly, thoughtfully. "I think we need to make her and the baby the center of our priorities."

Katniss shook her head adamantly. "I don't want the bakery to go on a back burner. You've worked too hard."

Peeta smiled and reached his hand across the table. He waited, willing Katniss to slip her hand into his, but she didn't. He went on. "It was selfish of me to be there so much when you were trying to get _your_ business started. And Lily was so small. I missed out on stuff. And I was frustrated when you seemed like you didn't care." He swallowed and started to move his hand back.

She grabbed it. "I'd gone from taking care of Prim to being Lily's mom so quickly that I wanted something of mine. It was selfish of _me_. I should have had a little more compassion. You were farther along with your plan. I could have held the camp off just a little longer. Just coached like I had been."

He squeezed her fingers. "So, there we have our problems."

"Not all of them." She pointed out. "We fought about a lot."

He nodded. "But it's a start." He kissed her knuckles and kept his hand in hers as they went back to their meal. "I can start to delegate a bit more at the bakery so I can be available some more."

"Can I come to the bakery? In the mornings before my lessons start?" She chewed her lip.

"I'd love that. We can always use help." He grinned. "And I could always use a bit of an audience when I decorate the cakes."

She matched his grin. "Well, it's so soothing."

"It really is. It's been my therapy this year." He watched her and she felt herself shrinking back. "What's wrong?"

"I just… I love you. And I think that forgetting that was the problem." She swallowed back the tears that were more present than they normally would be. "I can't…" She pulled her hand away and wiped at a wayward tear. "This is the part I hate the most."

Peeta sat down his fork and walked around the table. He dropped to his knees in front of Katniss, grasping her hands tightly in his own. "I love you. I never stopped. I never want anything less than being your husband and being Lily's dad. And this baby…" He flattened his hand on her stomach. "I want to fight with you again." His voice was thick. "And make up so we can fight some more. Wake up with you sprawled across my chest. I miss the weight of you, Katniss."

"I miss it too." Her voice was a choked whisper.

"I don't want to rush. It will be too confusing for Lily. But I want to date you again. Can I be your boyfriend?"

She snorted. "I'd like that."

He kissed her hands. "Let's start over." He stood and moved his chair and plate closer, his hand still rested on her knee. "Orgasm lasagna is my favorite lasagna."

She gave a watery laugh. "Well, I've always been good dealing out orgasms."

He laughed and squeezed her knee. "You really have."

She swiped her eyes again and sniffed. "None of those any time soon, though. Just so you know. We're going slow with this, so no sex."

He gave her a wicked smile. "That's not how it went the first time around."

She shrugged. "Sometimes you have to try on the shoe."

The statement tickled Peeta so much that he had to put his fork down and wipe his eyes. He slowly calmed down and they continued their conversation, but he still randomly giggled every so often.

They continued to talk and get to know each other again. When they were done with supper, Peeta washed the dishes while Katniss sat at the bar and watched. She wanted to help, but she'd started feeling a little woozy and he insisted she just sip some water and relax.

"I think I just ate too much." She commented.

He smiled. "I hope the baby doesn't hate cheese buns."

"That would put a huge damper on my diet." She leaned on her hand. "I've had this weird craving on and off for the last couple days."

"Oh?" He dried his hands and leaned forward. "Tell me. I'll make whatever you want."

"Do you remember those cookies your dad made that were covered in powdered sugar? The chocolate ones?" She sighed. "I haven't eaten those in so long."

"The chocolate crackles?"

She nodded.

He smiled sadly. "I tried making them a few times and they never tasted as good as Dad's."

She rested her hand on her stomach. "I'm sorry, I…"

He shook his head. "I can make them for you. I'll go to the bakery right now and make ten dozen."

She looked up at the clock. "It's kind of late for cookie baking."

Peeta followed her sight and nodded. "I'll get Lily." He stepped away from the sink and headed toward the door.

After a moment, Katniss followed. She considered asking him to stay, but that wouldn't be right. Instead, she pulled him into a silent hug. They held each other for a long time.

When Katniss finally pulled away with a smile, she asked. "Want to go to a movie this weekend?"

"Yeah, I hear there's a new Pixar one." Peeta grinned.

She chuckled. "I meant you and me. I was hoping for something that didn't involve talking animals."

He chuckled. "Okay. And I'll bring some of those chocolate cookies to smuggle in."

"You're such a bad man, Peeta." She smirked.

"I have to be bad sometimes." He leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose, making Katniss giggle.

"You have me all giddy. I feel like we're teenagers again."

He leaned in. "Then I'm dead for knocking you up."

"Twice." She rubbed his arms. "Time to get Lily."

He nodded. "You'll come to the bakery tomorrow? Watch me decorate a cake?"

"I'll be there." She stood at the open doorway until he got in his car and started it. She closed the door and locked up for the night. She sent a text to Peeta as she made her way to her bedroom. _Call me when you get Lily in bed so I can tell her goodnight?_

Peeta replied just as Katniss was climbing into bed. _Of course._

* * *

She rolled over and looked at the picture that Peeta drew of Lily on the day she was born. Her phone buzzed with a text and she saw her sister's name on the display.

Prim: _He was smiling when he got here. Get. It._

Katniss snorted and wrote her reply. _There was no sex, just delicious food._

Prim: _Whatever. You need to hit that again. Repeatedly._

Katniss rolled her eyes. _I don't know what's up with you and sex. It's like you've been hanging around Finnick and Johanna a little too much._

Prim: _Maybe I just have a really healthy love life. With your best friend. ;)_

Katniss made a disgusted face and was about to reply when her phone rang with a FaceTime call. She answered and saw Lily's tired face fill the screen. "Hi, baby!"

"Hi, Mommy!" Lily said. "Guess what?"

"What?" Katniss settled into bed.

"I helped Aunt Prim sew a pillow." Her eyes were wide.

Katniss laughed. "And was it fun?"

"It was so fun. And Uncle Gale made tacos. And I ate a whole bunch of cookies. And we watched Pocahontas. Mommy, can we have a raccoon? Daddy said no, but he lives in a bakery."

Katniss laughed when Lily finally stopped for breath. "Raccoons aren't the kind of animals that we have as pets."

"Aw, man." Lily yawned hugely.

"Time for bed." Katniss said. "Close your eyes and I'll sing for you."

Lily sighed, which turned into another yawn. She was asleep before Katniss was done with the first verse.

Peeta's face filled the screen and he quickly moved out of the room. "I had a good time tonight."

"I did, too." She said softly.

"You already in bed?" He asked, she could see he moved into his own bedroom.

"Yep." She moved the phone around so he could see the room. "It's pretty late for you. Are you going to be okay tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I've gone with less sleep." He smiled. "Do you remember that night right after we started dating when we snuck out to the meadow? Made out for hours? We left at two in the morning?"

"I remember. You fell asleep in English." She swallowed. "You've always been such a hard worker."

"I'm not the only one." He said softly. He glanced off to the side. "I guess I should try to sleep."

"Yes. And I'll see you in a few hours." She studied his face a moment. "I love you, Peeta."

"I love you so much, Katniss." He breathed. "Will you sing to me, Katniss?"

"Sure." She smiled. "Close your eyes."

Peeta did as she requested and Katniss started singing the same lullaby she had started for Lily. Her husband lasted until the chorus before he was snoring softly.

"Goodnight, Peeta." Katniss whispered before she hung up the phone. She rolled over and fell asleep with a smile on her face.


End file.
